Wednesday, March 05, 2008

If you haven't had a chance to check out the article written by Jerry Crasnick running over at ESPN about Alex Gordon, it's worth the time. Here's a link: Positive Thinking

I especially liked hearing about the way veteran guys like Mike Sweeney, Reggie Sanders, and Mark Grudzielanek rallied around Gordon last season when he was down in the dumps after staring the season so poorly at the plate:

And the Royals' veterans were wonderfully supportive. Reggie Sanders took Gordon to dinner, and Mike Sweeney and Mark Grudzielanek provided guidance from nearby lockers. Sweeney advised Gordon to quit overthinking and embrace the former Golden Spikes Award winner within.

"When you were in college, did you ever have a fear of failing?" Sweeney asked Gordon. "When you took the field at Nebraska, did you ever think you weren't going to dominate? You have to take that same feeling onto the major league diamond."

Slowly but surely, things began to click. Gordon rapped out four hits against Fausto Carmona and Tom Mastny in Cleveland, and went on to hit .285 after June 7. He led the Royals with 36 doubles and had ample reason to feel upbeat until that ground-ball facial in Game 162.

I hope that we haven't focused so much on the youth movement that we've forgotten what veteran guys bring to the clubhouse. I don't think Moore has forgotten, but I do think he's expecting guys like David DeJesus, Mark Teahen, and of course Grud, to pick up the slack. Let's hope that happens.

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